O/Luitenant Jules Joseph Angé

7th July 1891 - 29th March 1916

Gestorran voor Belgie

Buried in Ocklynge Cemetery, Eastbourne.

Lieut. CHRISTIAN H. E. BOULTON, 1897 - 1917 4th Bn. The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. If it is Thy will that I should fall, Then give me strength to bear this earthly pain. That dying, I may die for Thee alone, Or living, live to fight for Thee again. The quatrain is from a poem which Chris Boulton sent us for the Stonyhurst Magazine. with trench fever in May, 1916. They appeared in the Old Alumni columns under the title, " The Catholic Soldier's Battle Prayer." That his prayer was answered appears from a letter received from Father Bellanti, S.J., C.F., M.C., who wrote under the date November 5th, 1917 :— Did I tell you how, quite off his own bat, Chris told me he'd been off the previous Saturday to find a priest, and so secure his Communion on the Sunday. That showed, if anything could, how the lessons he had learned at Stonyhurst had not been forgotten. One had looked forward to meeting him again so soon, and now he is gone. Chris Boulton will be remembered as a delicate boy, and yet, in spite of ill-health, a boy of much character, and very amiable disposition. He was a member of the choir, and loved music and literature. He developed into a muscular, well-knit, sturdy officer and leader of men. Born in 1897, he was the second son of Capt. Sir Harold Boulton, Bart., C.V.O., T.F. Reserve, late of the Cameron Highlanders, and of Lady Boulton, of Copped Hall, Totteridge. He was killed on October 12th, 1917, being " shot in the stomach by machine gun bullets, and died immediately, in a nasty little unsatisfactory advance." (First Battle of Passchendaele.) Commemorated at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Flanders.

He joined the Cameron Highlanders in September, 1914, at the age of 17. Was posted with his battalion to France in May, 1915. He spent twelve months continuously in the line. In the following June he went to Australia as A.D.C. to the Governor of New South Wales. He was Acting Equerry to Princess Louise (Duchess of Argyll) from January to March, 1917. He then returned to France as A.D.C. to Major-General Sir Eric Geddes. Subsequently he served as an R.T.O., and Deputy Railhead Commandant, with the rank of Staff Lieutenant, 2nd Class. On June 27th he wrote saying that he hoped soon to be detailed on a special duty. He added : " I saw the place where Harold Lynch (1906) is buried at Festubert. I came across the grave over two years ago now, in May, 1915, and gave him my best prayers." In August he rejoined his battalion. While in the Army he had been entered a Commoner of Balliol College, Oxford. His literary tastes showed themselves in various articles which he wrote for papers and maga- zines. He was also the joint author, with Miss Gertrude Jennings, of Elegant Edward, which was produced at the Haymarket Theatre in 1916.

Stoneyhurst Tyne Cot Cemetery, Flanders. Mentioned in Parish Notice Book 20/10/1917 and in Stoneyhurst Records.

Private John Edward Cregan (or Creggan).

283450

2/4th Battalion The London Regiment (The

Royal Fusiliers) 56th London Division.

Killed in action at the Battle of Epehy, 19th September 1918. Aged 29.

Son of Mr Arthur Charles and Mrs Cregan, formerly of Fulham, London. John was born in Bloomsbury, enlisted at Eastbourne and had been employed as a footman in Eastbourne prior to the war. He lived at 193 Seaside, Eastbourne. He is buried at Epehy Wood Farm Cemetery in the Somme region of France.

The follwing is taken from the official History of the Royal

Fusiliers and describes the battle in which John faught and

died in September, 1918 - less than two months before the end

of the war.

EPEHY-PEZIERES, SEPTEMBER 10th

Germans held very strong positions, in advance of the

main trench system, at Havrincourt and Epehy. Before

the attack on the Hindenburg line these outliers had to

be taken. It fell to the Royal Fusiliers to put the strength

of one of these outposts to the test.

Epehy. — Epehy-Pezieres forms topographically not two, but one feature, and against this position the Fusilier

Brigade of the 58th Division advanced on September 1oth.

The battalions were all weak, the 2/2 Londons mustering

only 17 officers and 481 other ranks before the battle.

The 2/2nd and 3rd Londons advanced to the attack at

5.15 a.m. The objective of both battalions was the east

of the two villages. Pezieres was to be taken by the

2/2nd, and Epehy by the 3rd Londons. The German

line in this sector had been heavily reinforced ; and the

Alpine Corps, a body of formidable troops, held the

objectives of the Fusiliers' attack. The advance began

in a heavy storm of driving rain ; and, despite the stubborn

resistance, the objective was gained by both battalions.

But such positions could not be reduced in face of the

resistance of organised garrisons without a much heavier

treatment by artillery and the assistance of tanks. Neither

Epehy nor Pezieres was thoroughly mopped up, and as a

consequence when the counter-attack came the attacking

companies of the 2/2 Londons found themselves sur-

rounded. The men had to fight their way back. They

retired on Tottenham Post, in the north-western outskirts

of Pezieres, with a loss of 8 officers and 164 other ranks.

The 3rd Londons were also compelled to abandon their

objective. They had suffered heavily in the advance

from fire directed from the trenches south of Epehy.

in the afternoon the commanding officer led a bombing

attack on these trenches and succeeded in turning the

Germans out. The remnants of A and C Companies who,

under Captain S. W. Johnson, had held positions on the

railway embankment for some time, were forced back by

the counter-attack from the railway embankment to a

position slightly behind the assembly position. The 3rd

objectives of the 3rd Londons, held out until 7.45 p.m.,

when only 17 unwounded men remained of the original

garrison of 3 officers and 45 men. On September 19th

No. 1 Company held four of the enemy posts, and No. 2

had a grip on the railway cutting east of the village.

The 9th Royal Fusiliers moved due east from the rail-

way south of Epehy and north of Ronssoy to their final

objective, about 1,500 yards ahead. The battalion on

the left lost direction, and when the 9th Royal Fusiliers

had reached their final objective, their flanks were in the

air. On the right they had been in touch at the first two

objectives, but not at the final one ; and the resistance in

Epehy disturbed the day's plan. At the end of the day

the battalion dug in on their objectives with Lewis guns

protecting their flanks. They had captured 1 officer

and 65 other ranks from the Alpine Corps and 1st Guard

Grenadier Regiment with seven machine guns. Captain

W. E. Bott and Second Lieutenant G. S. Lowe, killed,

were among the 113 casualties. On September 21st the

9th Royal Fusiliers were again called upon to attack in an

endeavour to secure the final objectives of the 18th ; but,

despite several gallant attempts, little headway could be

made, and the battalion lost very heavily. Eleven

officers were lost, three, Second Lieutenants F. C. L.

Harrup, M.C., V. H. Isaacs and B. Spence, being killed.

These were very important losses, and, with the 270 other

ranks casualties, badly weakened the battalion.

Hard fighting was the lot of all these units in this battle,

but, for the complexus of difficulties involved, the nth

Royal Fusiliers' role must have been almost unique. The

R. W. Rents, attacking with the 54th Brigade, were to

capture and hold a line through the eastern outskirts of

Ronssoy. The Bedfords were to pass through them and

establish a line at the junction of the Bellicourt and Guil-

lemont (farm) roads. The Northants on the left and the

nth Royal Fusiliers on the right had then to form up

and attack northwards, at right angles to the main line of

advance, with May and Lempire among their objectives.

ELEVENTH BATTALION'S HARD TASK

By 7.30 a.m. (September 18th) the 4th Battalion were

formed up. This alone was no slight matter under the

circumstances. In the fog the attacking lines of the three

battalions became considerably mixed. Despite the

heavy machine-gun fire about Ronssoy, Captain G. E.

Cornaby exposed himself freely in order to organise his

company ; and this done, he led them forward under the

barrage to almost the whole of their objectives. Captain

Hornfeck with Captain Cornaby " led his men forward,

and, in spite of his exposed right flank and heavy machine-

gun and point-blank artillery fire from that direction,

succeeded in gaining his objective, capturing two field

guns and several trench mortars. On Captain Cornaby

becoming a casualty he took command in this area,

reorganised round the principal strong points and drove

off two counter-attacks."* Some of the men moved

throughout the morning to the whistle of the sergeant-

major as though in extended order drill. To complete

the anomaly, a German prisoner, eating black bread and

sausage, insisted on following the sergeant-major, and,

all threats notwithstanding, cheerfully continued to do so.

But, despite all gallantry and skill, the troops did not

reach their final objectives, and when the 55th Brigade

attacked through them they, too, could make very little

headway.

The enemy's resistance on the east of Basse Boulogne and

in Lempire could not be overcome.

In order to complete the capture of the objectives of

September 18th, the attack was resumed at 5.20 a.m.

on the 21st, the ?th Royal Fusiliers being in reserve.

But about midday two companies, organised as one, were

attached to the Bedfords, and they were sent forward

against Duncan Post at 12.15 am - on the 22nd. There

was a little moonlight, but not much, and the company,

losing direction, captured Cat Post (500 yards farther

south) and some trench elements, sending back 20

prisoners. There was thus a gap on their left flank.

About 1 p.m. the Bedfords carried Duncan Post with a

* Both of these officers gained the M.C.

Epehy Wood Cemetery

193 Seaside, Eastbourne.

Patrick Francis Douch

Rifleman 572867

2/17th Battalion, The London Regiment.

Killed in Palestine 27.11.1917 aged 23

son of Alfred and Ellen Douch of 15 Cavendish Avenue, Eastbourne

buried in the Jerusalem War Cemetery, Palestine.

15 Cavendish Avenue, Eastbourne.

1911 Census :

Alfred Douch, Head of family, aged 59, married, Luggage porter. Ellen Douch, wife, aged 56, married William Douch, son, aged 35, married, railway guard. Thomas Douch, son, aged 25, Railway carman, single. Patrick Douch, son, aged 17, Shop porter grocer, single.

Ellen Douch, daughter, aged 14, school pupil. Addie Douch, grandaughter, aged 5, school pupil. All, apart from Mrs Ellen Douch, were local Sussex-born. It is unclear where Mrs Douch was born. There were another three people living in the house - ap-parently unrelated. There were seven rooms in all. At the outbreak of the First World War, Palestine (now Israel) was part of

the Turkish Empire and it was not entered by Allied forces until December

1916. The advance to Jerusalem took a further year, but from 1914 to De-

cember 1917, about 250 Commonwealth prisoners of war were buried in

the German and Anglo-German cemeteries of the city. By 21 November

1917, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force had gained a line about five kilo-

metres west of Jerusalem, but the city was deliberately spared bombard-

ment and direct attack. Very severe fighting followed, lasting until the

evening of 8 December, when the 53rd (Welsh) Division on the south, and

the 60th (London) and 74th (Yeomanry) Divisions on the west, had cap-

tured all the city's prepared defences. Turkish forces left Jerusalem

throughout that night and in the morning of 9 December, the Mayor came

to the Allied lines with the Turkish Governor's letter of surrender. Jerusa-

lem was occupied that day and on 11 December, General Allenby formally

entered the city, followed by representatives of France and Italy. Mean-

while, the 60th Division pushed across the road to Nablus, and the 53rd

across the eastern road. From 26 to 30 December, severe fighting took

place to the north and east of the city but it remained in Allied hands. JE-

RUSALEM WAR CEMETERY was begun after the occupation of the

city, with 270 burials.

Quarter Master Sergeant Romeo Dusseault

61682

22nd Battalion Canadian Infantry

Died of wounds 22nd April 1917 aged 29.

Buried in Ocklynge Cemetery, Eastbourne.

Major Hugh Joseph Fraser MVO.

2nd Battalion, Scots Guards. Death: 27 October 1914

Ypres, Western Front.

: son of the late Simon Fraser, 13th Baron Lovat.

Mentioned in Parish Notice Book : 1/11/1914.

Trooper John Arthur Glen

1077

1st King Edward’s Horse attached to XI th Corps.

Killed in action on 9th April, 1918 aged 31.

Son of John and Charlotte Glen, he was born at Islington, London in 1887. He had lived at 73 Cavendish Avenue,

Eastbourne.

He has no known grave, Commemorated at the Loos Memorial.

73 Cavendish Avenue, Eastbourne.

Loos memorial.

2nd Lieut. REGINALD A. JEREMY GWYN, 2nd Bn. (attached 7th Bn.) The Lincolnshire Regt. 1897 - 1916 " Roy " Gwyn came to Stonyhurst from Clongowes Wood College, entering the class of Rudiments here in September, 1910. A master wrote of him :— I had always the highest opinion of his character —rugged and fiery at times, but always absolutely straight. He told me when he was in Rudiments that he had made up his mind to be a soldier, but was anxious then about his health. He was very keen on soldiering, and used to read of Wellington and his wars with great delight. I am not sure that he did not take a prize essay on that subject. He certainly won the Lower Line Prize Essay in 1912. He also won the Religious Doctrine Prize in 1911, and the B.C.A. Prize in 1911 and 1912. I hardly ever met a boy who was less influenced by human respect. What he considered right and honourable that he did, without apparently giving a thought to what others might think of him. He was indeed " one of the very best.” At the outbreak of the war Roy Gwyn enlisted in the Empire Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers, and was made a Sergeant. He was given a nomination to Sandhurst in 1914, and passed out on May 12th, 1915. From May to November, 1915, he was stationed at Grimsby, with the 3rd (Reserve) Bn. The Lincolnshire Regt. He left for the front on November 25th, 1915, and was posted to the 2nd Bn. The Lincolnshire Regt., then in France. Three weeks before he was killed he was attached to

the 7th Lincolns. He received his fatal wound on the south of the Ypres salient, at the battle of Ypres Bluff. His age was just 18 years. Some difficulty was experienced at first in obtaining details as to his fate, after the first preliminary notice had been issued that he had been wounded. Finally, the following letter from the M.O. of the 1st Gordons confirmed the worst anticipations of his anxious relatives : — During the bombardment of March 3rd, 1916, Lieut. Gwyn was struck by a small piece of shrapnel. The fragment penetrated deeply into the neck, and I am very much afraid that the spinal cord was struck. I dressed him a few minutes after he was wounded. He was quite conscious and suffered no pain, but his lower limbs were completely paralysed. He was wrapped in blankets and removed to the 52nd Field Ambulance a few hours later. I very much fear that he may have died either there or on his way to the Clearing Station. From information received later from various sources it appears that Lieut. Gwyn died of his wound on the day he received it, March 3rd. He was buried by a party of the 4th Bn. The Royal Fusiliers in a wood near the field of Verbranden Molen, on March 8th, at the spot where his body was found. From this last statement, which was received from the War Office, it seems clear that he never reached the Clearing Station to which he was sent after leaving the 52nd Field Ambulance. The following extract from a letter received from his Major supplies the probable reason :-• All the casualties had to be carried through an exceptionally severe curtain of shell fire set up by the German artillery. This curtain stretched all along the immediate rear of the fighting, and was about 200 yards in depth—a belt of intensive fire, in fact. That there were cases of bearers, stretchers, and casualties being destroyed I know, and I must not disguise from you my fear that here we have another case. The same writer (Major, 7th Lincolns) thus described in brief the gallant bearing of Lieut. Gwyn in action : He was wounded in the attack on Ypres Bluff. The regiment was divided, as we were supporting four different battalions. Your son behaved very gallantly. He went over with his men in the attack in immediate support of the 1st Gordons, and as their front line was wiped out he and his men reached the enemy's trenches along with their second line. Up to this time he was unhurt. Later on, in the consolidation of the position we had won, he was arranging for a supply of bombs to be sent up to our front line, and was hit outside the bomb store by a shell. He was first of all taken to the dressing station of the 1st Gordons, and was dressed there, being sent on later to one of the other ambulances on a stretcher. Your son was only with us a few days, but during that time he proved himself a gallant and capable officer. In his last letter to his parents, dated February 27th, Lieut. Gwyn refers to the pleasure he felt on getting an opportunity for going to Confession and Communion on that day. He added : " I tried to serve Mass, but a Brigadier-General did it himself.” Born on 3rd September, 1897, he was the son of Major Reginald Gwyn and Mrs. Gwyn, of Stanfield Hall, Wymondham.

Reginald A.J. Gwyn Mentioned in Parish Notice Book : 9/4/1916 ; also, Stoneyhurst Records

Constance Mary Hodges VAD

1876 - 1917

Constance Mary Hodges was born in Liverpool in 1876. Her parents were Lt Colonel J.F.Hodges and Mrs sarah Margaret Hodges. By 1881 her father had died and she was living in Tranmere, Birkenhead, Wirral, Cheshire with her mother and a an older sister. When the Great War broke out Constance joined the Voluntary Aid Detatchment (nurses). She held important positions in nursing in London and served also in Belgium - being awarded the Belgian Nursing Medal. She returned to England in early 1917 and was nursing at the Urmston Hospital in Eastbourne from February of that year. She

was taken ill on 6th June 1917 and died of septicaemia on Saturday, 23rd June, 1917. Her funeral was held on Tuesday, 26th June - “with military honours”. The Requiem Mass was celebrated by Mgr Cocks at Our Lady of Ransom. Many VIPs turned out for the funeral, including the Mayor and Mayoress and many representatives of the Army, the Medical Corps and VADs. The cortege was led by the Band of the 13th Hussars - playing Chopin’s Funeral march. 100 soldiers from the military hospitals at Summerdown were in attendance and three volleys were fired by soldiers over the grave. The Last Post was played by trunpeters from the Cavalry Command Depot - the coffin was borne by six VADs. Constance Mary Hodges was 41 when she died and was buried at Ocklynge Cemetery in Eastbourne. The inscription on her gravestone reads :”In proud and loving memory of Constance Mary Hodges who on the 23rd June 1917 gave her life for the wounded soldiers she nursed so devotedly.” Mentioned in Parish Notice Book : 24/6/1917 and Eastbourne Chronicle.

Private Thomas Frederick Liebrecht

6877

Household Cavalry Died of wounds, 22nd November 1918.

Born Aldershot, 1893, he was son of Catherine and Capt.

John Henry Liebrecht.

Mentioned in the Parish Notice Book : 24/11/1918; buried in Ocklynge Cemetery.